Apples and Oranges
by bsloths
Summary: Takes place during "Close to Me." Manny and Jay discuss what's going on between Jane and Declan. Oneshot. Janny.


This is a Janny-centric "missing moment" from episode 9.04, Close to Me. When Jay gave Declan that weird look at Spinner's party, I realized that Manny was pushing for a Spinner/Jane breakup, and I wondered if that would cause tension with Jay (Spin's best friend). This is what came of my musings.

Enjoy!

--Brandi

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi: The Next Generation or any of its wonderful characters.

**Apples and Oranges **

"Did you see the way Jane was flirting with that guy?" Jay griped as he and Manny entered his apartment after Spinner's housewarming party.

Manny barely glanced at him as she tossed her purse on the table and made herself comfortable on Jay's couch. "With what guy, Declan? Oh, yeah, they have a thing," she replied, entirely too casually for Jay's liking.

"A thing? She's cheating on Spinner?" Jay croaked.

Manny finally caught on to Jay's distress. "Come here," she demanded, and he flopped down next to her on the couch. She put a comforting hand on his arm. "Of course she's not cheating. There's an attraction, that's all. Personally, I think she should go for it."

"You're kidding, right?" Jay pushed her hand away and folded his arms. "How could you say that? What about Spinner?"

"You're really worked up about this, aren't you, boo?" Manny knitted her eyebrows. "I know you and Spinner are buds, but it's not like he and Jane were gonna get married or anything."

Jay stared at her in disbelief until he remembered she had been at Smithdale last semester and had missed the Sweetheart Week debacle. He softened. "Actually, Spinner proposed to her last fall."

"What?!" It was Manny's turn to get upset. "What the hell?" She smacked his chest.

"Okay, okay, don't go cuckoo bananas on me," Jay chided with a smile. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Nothing happened with that. They were having some issues because Spinner didn't get into police college and Jane was going to university far away or something. The point is, he's always been serious about her. And if she dumped him for that snooty little rich boy, it would kill him."

"But isn't it better that Jane plays the field a little, to be sure Spinner's who she wants? She did say they were spending too much time together. Maybe she's getting sick of him. If she's flirting with another guy, she's obviously not happy with him right now and should break it off."

Jay groaned in frustration. "No, they should work it out. I'm not letting my hetero life mate get screwed over by some chick yet _again_."

It was Manny's turn to groan. "Don't you dare go referencing Kevin Smith, thinking it'll win me over."

"Why not? I can't quote a character who shares my name?" Jay smirked at her.

"But babe," Manny scrunched up her nose, "in your relationship with Spin, _you're_ Silent Bob."

Jay considered that. "Guess you're right. I just hate to think of them breaking up. And you shouldn't push her to do it."

"I know you want to have your friend's back, but is there another reason this is upsetting you so much? I haven't seen you this on edge in awhile." She could see the worry in his eyes that seemed to go deeper than concern for his friends.

Jay gave her a long look before speaking. "Here's the thing. Jane is the same age right now that you were when we started going out. Spinner is the same age as I was. If those two can't make it, what does that say about us? Do you want to go get other guys out of _your_ system, too?"

Manny unfolded his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders. She leaned back against him and tilted her head so that she could look into his eyes. "I can't believe how much I love you. You're such a friggin' idiot!"

"Hey!" Jay grumbled, not really offended when he saw the adoration in her eyes. "What are you talking about? Did you not hear everything I just said?"

"I _did_ get other guys out of my system! Mick, remember?" She shuddered at the name. "Trust me, you're all I want."

"That was _after_ we were broken up. You never cheated while we were together…" he let the question go unasked.

"Of course not," Manny scoffed. "But you're still comparing apples and oranges. Jane and Spinner have been together about a year, and we didn't even last six months the first time around."

"So in another six months, you'll be sick of me?" Jay asked with a pout.

Manny sighed. She knew he sometimes felt like her coming back to him was too good to be true. She was about to say something about his crappy self-esteem when his pout turned into a smirk and she realized he was kidding. "Loser." She reached around and tugged off his baseball cap by the brim, placing it on her own head.

"Not gonna happen, right, Dimples?" he said as he kissed her cheek.

"Nah, I think I'm pretty much stuck with you," she teased. "Though having almost three thousand miles between us might be helping me tolerate you."

"Ha ha. Very funny. You know we promised we wouldn't get engaged again for awhile. We're taking it slow like you want."

"I know. But just because I don't want 'serious' right now doesn't mean I want anyone but you." She grinned at him, so full of sincerity that he couldn't help but lean down and kiss her.

After a minute (or two), Jay turned back to the problem at hand. "But even if _we're_ fine, what about Spinner?"

Manny sighed. "Think of it this way. I have a feeling that Jane really likes Declan. Would you rather she did something behind Spin's back, or broke it off with him now to prevent a problem later?"

Jay stared at the floor. "Yeah, it makes sense to tell her to get out before she does something she regrets." He sighed. "I still owe Spinner a few beers from all the ones he treated me to after we, ya know…" He smiled ruefully at her.

"Oh, you know it'll be just as bad with Spinner. He'll mope for days. Remember when Paige dumped him after they tried that whole friends-with-benefits thing?"

"Yeah. And he didn't take the breakups with you or Darcy all that well either."

Manny cringed. "Yeah, okay, now you're making me feel guilty."

"Did Jane actually tell you she was going to break up with him?"

"No," Manny said thoughtfully. "In fact, she seemed like she wanted to lay low, and I was the one who said it was okay to flirt."

"Maybe _you're_ the one who likes this Declan guy, and you want to live vicariously through Jane," Jay said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Don't start," Manny grinned. "I like my life just fine, thank you very much." There was that remarkably low self-esteem again. She decided coddling him a little wouldn't hurt. "Besides, _Declan_ doesn't play the drums. _Declan_ doesn't know a thing about cars. _Declan_ wouldn't…" she whispered something decidedly dirty into his ear and he knocked the hat off her head in his haste to get her pinned against the couch.

Manny realized that the discussion was over. Jay was definitely not moping anymore. "I'll talk to Jane on Monday. Try to feel her out," she concluded as Jay clumsily tugged her shirt over her head.

He sat up for a moment. "I'm not bringing this up to Spin, ya know. If he thinks she's going to dump him, he'll just get paranoid."

"Yeah, don't. Everything will work out for the best." They smiled at each other, and Manny pulled him closer. "I promise."


End file.
